


Elizabeth and Franco - The Next Move

by Tessaray



Category: General Hospital (TV 1963)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:00:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26418361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tessaray/pseuds/Tessaray
Summary: Are Elizabeth and Franco playing Ava and Nikolas or are they getting played? A one-shot that attempts to address those weird kisses. Not sure if this makes any more sense than what we're seeing onscreen, but I had to take a stab at it.
Relationships: Robert "Franco" Frank/Elizabeth Webber
Comments: 4
Kudos: 12





	Elizabeth and Franco - The Next Move

"I left the mouthwash on the counter," Elizabeth calls when she hears Franco in the hallway outside the bedroom.

"Oh, thank God," he mutters. She hears the bathroom door close, makes out the sounds of running water and muffled gargling. She scooches deeper under the covers and runs her tongue over her teeth, tasting only the medicinal tang of mouthwash. Absolutely no trace of Nikolas.

She's dying of curiosity, waits impatiently until she hears the bathroom door open again and Franco comes into the bedroom, wiping his mouth. He rolls his eyes and shakes his head.

"So?" she says, abruptly sitting up.

"You first," he says, toeing off his shoes.

"Nu-uh," she says. "This was all your idea. How'd it go with Ava?"

He unbuttons his shirt, pauses to contemplate. "You know her: a little sympathy, a lot of flattery, a merry stroll down memory lane. She was putty in my hands."

"So… you were right, they were using us? Did she tell you what's going on in that parody of a marriage?"

He shrugs, rolls his head, unzips his black jeans. "After a little prompting."

"Prompting?" Elizabeth says, feeling frosty. "So… you did kiss her. I heard the gargling."

He shrugs again.

"I know, I know," she mutters. "That's the plan we agreed to. Soften them up, make them think we're dissatisfied and vulnerable, get them to trust us, get some evidence…"

"Exactly. But I thought of you the whole time, I swear," he says with a lopsided grin.

She crosses her arms hard over her chest, surprised by a pang of jealousy. "The _whole time_?" she repeats.

"Brief time." He pulls off his jeans, his socks, leaves everything in a pile and comes toward the bed, the grin breaking into a broad smile. "Very brief. Blink of an eye. Or a camera shutter, in this case."

"Who ended it?"

"She did. Turns out Ava's grown a conscience." He crawls into bed beside her, sensuously kisses her shoulder, then drops back, folding an arm beneath his head. "One minute she's slagging you off, trying to make me resent you — it was all I could do to stay cool, Elizabeth — then things get… intimate… and suddenly she's your best friend and all about saving our marriage."

"Either that," Elizabeth says, anger simmering. "Or she didn't want to get caught breaking the postnup first."

Franco looks up at her with surprise. "Nikolas admitted it?"

"He confessed everything. Whichever of them cheats first loses a fortune to the other, just like you suspected. It's so twisted, Franco."

"Very twisted," he agrees, but quickly changes the subject. "And Nikolas just, what, spilled this to you with no… prompting?"

She settles down beside him and lays her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes on the distasteful memory. "Some prompting. But not on my part."

He shifts, snarls. "Was there tongue?"

"A little."

He exhales hard through his nostrils. "Son of a bitch. Where'd I put that dog cage…"

"Not even funny," she scolds, running her fingers through the generous spray of hair on his chest. "It all happened according to plan. Believe me, though, all I could taste was _snake_ ," she says, a sudden storm of emotions rising. "It's really true — Nikolas is trying to drive a wedge between us so you'll go running to Ava… all for what amounts to a _bet_! I used to trust him, Franco. There was a time I trusted him more than anyone. I just can't wrap my head around this — could he really be so cold, so heartless as to destroy my life, the lives of my boys… for _money_?"

She feels momentarily lost, rejected, and abandoned yet again by someone who claimed to care for her… and it must be her fault, something must be very wrong with her, she's so broken, so unloveable…

Until Franco's fierce, strong arms wrap around her, hold her tight… and remind her that she's precious, that she belongs, that she's _loved_ … that this is _not her fault_ …

"He proving himself to be a Cassadine, through and through," she says sadly, sinking deep into Franco's endless embrace. "You know, my heart broke when I thought he was dead, but in some ways, this is worse."

"I could pulverize him for betraying you like this," he says, pressing his lips into her hair

"I know. And I hate Ava for betraying you… and for thinking I could _ever_ cheat on you."

He hesitates, but she feels a surge of tension in his body. "Well, Ava will Ava," he shrugs, belying the pain in his voice. "A scorpion stings. That's its nature. And she's a survivor; she intends to win this battle. She may have said all the right things today, but I don't for one second think this is over."

"Same with Nikolas. He'll fight to the death to hang onto the Cassadine fortune."

"And lucky, lucky us, we're caught in the middle between these two maniacs."

"We'll turn it to our advantage," she murmurs slyly into his chest. "The pictures are only a start."

He angles his head to look down at her. "Do you have a plan, Nurse Webber?"

"Well, we're talking about two highly-sexed individuals," she says. "How long do you think they can last without… you know. Even today, I think the only reason Nikolas stopped was that we were in public and he could have gotten caught breaking the postnup. But I'm pretty sure that if he thought he could get away with it, and if I'd been the least bit willing, he would have been all over me."

"Son of a _bitch_!" Franco snarls, erupting beneath Elizabeth, shoving at the covers in an effort to get out of bed. "What did he do to you? I'm getting that damn dog cage!"

But she pushes him down, laughing, and adjusts the covers over him before replacing her head on his shoulder.

"No seriously, Elizabeth," he protests, body vibrating. "That arrogant horn-dog thinks he can just swan into our lives and manipulate you into betraying everything you—,"

"—Franco," she interrupts, petting his chest to calm him. "He's not manipulating me into anything and he never will. We're onto them, both of them. We'll make them regret ever trying to come between us."

He heaves a huge sigh. "Okay. So let's discuss our next move."

She pauses. His body is warm beside her, so beloved, so available…

"I know my next move," she says seductively, and climbs on top of him, partly playfully, mostly not.

"Hmmm, that's a good move," he purrs.

She brushes her lips over his, subtly undulates her body. "I vote that for tonight, we forget about those two and their twisted—,"

"—pathetic," he softly interjects.

"—loveless," she breathes against his lips.

"—sexless," he murmurs, cupping the back of her head.

"—sham of a marriage," she finishes as he pulls her down for a deep, hungry kiss.

"They're not the only ones who are highly-sexed," he says, breaking the kiss long enough to draw her silk nightgown over her head, toss it aside and roll on top of her.

"Lucky, lucky us," she says.

**_End_ **


End file.
